Get Out Of Iraq Now.

The following are extracts from an article by Daniel Kurtzer, a professor of Middle East policy studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and a former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel, published on Sept. 7 by the International Herald Tribune (IHT): "...I respect the views of Cheney

and Rumsfeld with regard to Iraq even though I differ with them entirely. But it is sad and an indication of ideological obtuseness and bullying for these leaders not to accord the same respect to those who differ with their policies. I am not confused about Iraq.

"In 2003, I accepted the president's rationale for the invasion - to deal with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program or capabilities and to degrade Iraq's military potential in light of the breakdown of the United Nations sanctions regime. My personal support for this policy ended, however, when President...Bush declared victory in Iraq in [early May] 2003 in front of that banner that read 'Mission accomplished'. I could not understand then and certainly do not understand now why Bush suddenly changed the goal of the Iraq war into a crusade for democracy, and why this goal was and is worthy of the thousands of American lives and billions of dollars lost in Iraq.

"Thus I support withdrawing American forces as soon as possible, if possible within the context of a regional and international accord, but unilaterally if such an accord proves to be impossible to attain. I am also not an appeaser. I believe America should be pursuing the global effort against terrorism with as much vigor as Cheney and Rumsfeld would like to muster. But we must fight terrorists - not be diverted by ideologically driven policies that have only marginal immediate impact on the counterterrorism effort.

"The US military response to terrorism must be maintained and focused, but we also need to assure sufficient resources and attention to all the other facets of counter-terrorism, including stopping terrorists' financial transactions, preventing illegal trade and proliferation, strengthening international institutions and legal mechanisms and providing smart economic assistance to get at the root causes of social discontent and unrest. For example, the Arabs themselves, in the UN Development Program-sponsored Arab Development Reports, have identified the deficits of freedom, knowledge and women's empowerment as requiring urgent attention. Without trying to impose a US- sponsored form of democracy on Arab states, America should be directing its assistance and support to Arab efforts to address these deficits.

"These policies are the opposite of appeasement; hence my anger at US senior officials who accuse of appeasement those of us who want to end the adventure in Iraq in order to focus our efforts at counterterrorism. So what should be done as we decide to withdraw our forces from Iraq?

"First, the United States should convene a contact group of regional and extraregional parties to try to concert strategy. We would indicate at the outset our strategic decision to withdraw within a year, but allow for that strategy to be shaped by the views and advice of our friends.

"Next, Iran and Syria have to be part of that discussion, however distasteful that is to America. If we leave them out, they will only have an incentive to disrupt our withdrawal. If we invite them in - recognizing that they will be among the chief beneficiaries of our withdrawal - this may help moderate their appetites for mischief. While it is doubtful Iran and Syria would accept such an invitation, there is little diplomatic downside in extending it to them.

"We also need to focus particular attention on the Kurds in Iraq. The situation in the north is likely to require a residual US presence to allay Turkey's concerns about Kurdish ambitions, and Kurdish concerns about Turkish actions.

"This multilateral diplomacy must include an internal agreement on the distribution of energy income among the key groups in Iraq. This would provide the country's minority Sunnis with a minimum incentive to join a federal Iraqi government after a US withdrawal.

"This is not a 'cut and run' strategy and it is not born of confusion or a desire to appease. Rather it is an approach that makes a realistic assessment of the prospects of success and failure and concludes that we can do more and better - against terrorism, in support of our allies, in helping on the Arab-Israeli front - by withdrawing from Iraq in the context of carefully crafted diplomatic understandings among allies and Iraq's neighbors".

Maliki In Tehran: Iran on Sept. 12 offered to help establish security and stability in Iraq after PM Maliki held talks in Tehran on his first official visit to the Shi'ite theocracy. Maliki and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad gave few details about their talks, except to say their countries, which fought a war from 1980 to 1988, had agreed to co-operate in political, economic and security ties. Maliki had been expected to tell fellow Shi'ite leaders in Iran that Tehran should not interfere in Iraqi affairs. Washington has accused Tehran of backing militants fighting US troops in Iraq.

At a joint news conference after meeting with Maliki, Ahmadi-Nejad said: "We will give our full assistance to the Iraqi government to establish security. Strengthening security in Iraq means strengthening security and stability in the region". Maliki, speaking through a translator, said: "This visit will be useful for co-operation between Iran and Iraq, in all political, security and economic fields". The two sides signed an agreement covering these areas.

Shortly before starting the two-day visit, Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Maliki would bluntly tell Tehran not to interfere in Iraq, though he stopped short of endorsing US accusations of Iranian "meddling". Dabbagh said: "We want to pass a message to the Iranian leaders that Iraq needs good relations with neighbouring countries, without interference in our internal affairs".

Maliki on Sept. 13 met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, echoing Ahmadi-Nejad, called on the 145,000 US troops to leave Iraq, saying: "Most problems in Iraq will be removed with the departure of occupiers. So we wish for their immediate evacuation". Maliki - wanting the Americans gone, but not until Iraqi forces are capable of handling the violence they face - also met with the influential former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Since forming a national unity government in May, Maliki has vowed to curb militant Shi'ite factions, some of whom have links with movements in Iran, as part of efforts to avert civil war with Saddam's once-dominant Sunni minority. Some leaders in Tehran are close to Shi'ite Iraqi leaders like Sadr, whose Jaysh al-Mahdi is particularly hostile to the occupying forces. Before the trip Dabbagh said: "We understand that the violence in Iraq is being fed and financed by others. Some of them are countries, some are groups. We'd like neighbouring states to share in stopping such things coming to Iraq".

Maliki's visit followed trips to Arab states run by Sunni Arabs who view with suspicion Iraq's Shi'ite majority and its ties to Iran's theocracy. The rise of the Shi'ite majority has brought to power in Iraq many leaders who spent long years in exile in Iran. Though Maliki was mostly based in Syria, many of those close to him in the Da'wa movement found refuge in Iran.

Gulf News on Sept. 13 quoted Iraqi Minister of State Hassan Sari, a Shi'ite, as claiming relations between the Iraqi Shi'ite parties and Iran had changed. "We used to get support from Iran while we struggled against Saddam Hussein's regime, which is not something we need today. We are now seeking good neighbourhood relations, mutual respect and non-interference, which is the case with all neighbouring countries". He denied any Iranian role in supporting some Shi'ite armed groups.

The US accuses Sadr of being the arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to which President Ahamdi-Nejad belongs. Gulf News pointed to a recent US security report revealing that the IRGC was training members of Sadr Jaysh al-Mahdi and supplying them with weapons. Sunni leader Muhsen Abdul-Hamid, head of the Consultative Council of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP - an evolution from Iraq's Muslim Brotherhood", was quoted by Gulf News as saying: "We told the Iranians about our fears but they denied being involved in Iraq".

The Sunni-dominated Iraqi Defence Ministry and General Intelligence are closer to the US stand. Kurdish leader Mahmoud Othman told Gulf News the important thing in the Iraq-Iran relationship was to keep it away from the Iranian-American disputes, adding: "Iraqi politicians in power do not want to get involved in the settlement of scores between Washington and Tehran. What is important is Iraq's interest".

The toughest challenge facing Maliki is his ability to handle Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK), an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group which is a crucial issue in determining the strength of Iraqi-Iranian relations. MeK is currently based at Ashraf Camp in the Diyali Province under US military supervision. Closure of the Ashraf Camp and deportation of MeK members from Iraq is Iran's prerequisite for any security agreement with Baghdad. On the other hand, Iran is accused of supporting the call to establish a Shi'ite theocracy in the southern and central parts of Iraq.